Friday, February 11, 2011

First Islet cell transplant in Ohio and a rough week for me

Its been a long week. I returned from a wonderful trip to Florida on Monday night, enjoyed a quiet day at home on Tuesday, and then came down with a nasty cold on Wednesday. Its Wednesday again, and I'm worse for the wear. This is the first time that I have had more than a cold since my transplant. The CMV doesn't count because it was due to my immunosuppression.

It began with a cough, then a low fever. I got in to see my Dr. on Saturday who prescribed Keflex. I started it Saturday and expected to feel better soon. Saturday night, I got a really strong headache on my left side. Usually my headaches are on my right side, so this was strange. It got worse and could not be relieved on Sunday. I called my Dr to ask if this could be due to the antibiotic. He didn't think so, so I kept taking it. By Monday night, I had to give up on it. I called in sick on Monday for the first time in over 7 years (I just hate wasting those vacation days). I woke up on Tuesday with no headache. I called the Dr to see if I could try a different antibiotic. My cough had improved, but was not gone. It actually got worse as the day went on. He prescribed Amoxicillin. I started that Tuesday evening. My headache resurfaced again, but probably because I was so exhausted from my return to work.

My blood sugars have been increasing with all of this as well. I normally take about 8 units. I'm now up to 15 units/day. This worries me too.

Finally, this morning I am beginning to feel like I might be getting over it. My headache has subsided which makes all the difference. My eyes and head feel so much more clear. My BGs are still running high. Hopefully, I can get just a little exercise in which should help. I'm still not eating much and have probably lost the weight that I had been trying so hard to gain. I have these next two days off. That should help.

Also on the horizon, I had to increase my Rapamune level. Now I take 8mg/day. Both of my immunosuppressants have been on a steady increase lately. I asked Dr. Bellin about this. She said its not common, but does happen. Hopefully, this will taper off. I will have my level tested again on Friday to see how the new dose is holding.

To end on a much more pleasant note. Florida. It was wonderful. My sister and I visited our Dad and his wife in New Smyrna Beach. The weather was warm and sunny. I got in several walks and a nice bike ride. We walked along the beach and boardwalk. We ate lots of seafood.

One of the highlights was that I was able to meet my friend Sandra, from the Adult Stem Cells blog, who I have been corresponding with by email for over a year. We had a wonderful family meeting at a McDonald's near the airport in Orlando. It was a new experience for me to meet someone who I already know so well. It was scary at first, but ended up being a very special time for me. Her family had a very endearing quality that made us all at ease. I especially enjoyed getting to know her son Gabriel, who had a stem cell transplant over a year ago to help his Type 1 diabetes. He is doing very well and is so knowledgeable about all of the details involved to keep his BGs on track.

Ohio State University performed its first islet cell transplant recently. Finally this procedure has come to my state. Here is the Story.

And here are some flowers that Gary got for me while I wasn't feeling well.

2 comments:

Glad you are feeling better! How I would LOVE to get out of Ohio and go to Florida! I'm hoping those 50 degree temps in the forecast for next week actually happen! Thanks for the link to OSU - gonna go check it out!

White Flower Oil (http://embrocation.50webs.com) was introduced to me by my mother. During one of my headaches, she gave me this tiny bottle of oil and told me to massage it on my temples and forehead. Amazingly, it worked! Somehow the oil penetrates into the affected area and relieves the pain.

About Me

I had an islet cell transplant in 2008 at the Schulze Diabetes Institute in Minneapolis. I enjoyed 2 years of freedom from insulin. Now, I take a small dose and continue to feel healthy and grateful for this opportunity.

Welcome

My blog is designed to give an inside look at what is involved in the experience of having an islet cell transplant. I feel very fortunate to be in the position to share what I have learned and welcome any questions or comments.